A Second Glance
by Queen-of-Ice101
Summary: Hikaru Challenge: LME is going on a vacation! President Lory has decided that his favourite LME stars have been working so hard that they deserve some time off and so informs Kyoko, the Ishibashi boys, Ren and Yashiro and Kanae that they are being taken on a all expenses payed cruise to a beachside resort! Time for some fun, relaxation, and maybe a chance for a unexpected romance!
1. LME Cruise

Hello wonderful readers!

So recently I was going through old fanfics and I came across a couple that had been forgotten about of abandoned and this was one of said fics. I'm currently rewriting and publishing a different Skip Beat OC fanfic but this one also caught my attention and with only a couple of fixes I decided that it would be a fun little story to publish.

Hopefully you enjoy my little story:)

* * *

 **EDIT** : I forgot to add this when I first published this story for which I am very sorry.

A Second Glance was written when I came across the Hikaru Challenge story **Chicken of the Sea by Jhiz** several months ago and after reading that story I had really wanted to try writing a story for the Hikaru challenge myself. I had forgotten about this story like I said until coming across it a couple of days ago and to be honest wasn't really planning on doing anything with it but after looking to see how many stories there are with Hikaru I was quite sad since there aren't very many at all.

I personally wish that Hikaru was more of a forefront character in the manga and decided that I would put the time into editing this story so I could publish it. Please keep in mind that this story was written several months ago and my writing style has since changed, however with how many stories I have on the go right now plus the fact that I do have to live in real life as well I don't have the time to actually rewrite this right now. Perhaps one day I'll come back and rewrite this although I highly doubt it.

I encourage you all to check out Chicken of the Sea and hopefully even though this isn't a Ren/Kyoko romance story you'll read my five chapter little story. It may surprise you;)

 **RULES FOR THE HIKARU CHALLENGE: (rules taken from the Hikaru Challenge community founded by Jhiz)**

In five chapters of less, write a story that keeps true to the character's personalities (having a rational reason for personal growth) and allows Mogami Kyoko to not only see Ishibashi Hikaru as a potential suitor but also acknowledge him a a forerunner for her heart (in other words, establish that has a portion of her heart reserved for him that says 'boyfriend' not Sempi, co-star or even best guy friend) Altwrnitive reality fictions will not count as part of the challenge.

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Disclaimer:

I don't own Skip Beat.

* * *

 **LME Cruise!**

* * *

"A LME cruise vacation?!"

Lory grinned at her excitement. "Yes. You, Kanae, Bridge Rock, Ren, Yashiro, me, Sebastian and Chiori. You will room with Kanae and Chiori, the bridge rock members will room together, Ren and Yashrio will room together and Sebastian and I will room together."

"Really? I can come?"

Lory laughed. "Of course! You're one of the hardest workers here. Your eighteen and I can't remember one time you took a weekend off. Your usually working at the restaurant much to your landlords unhappiness since your spending your day off working or your over at Ren's cooking and working on script parts with him."

Kyoko bounced up and down on the balls of her feet. "Have you already told the Ishibashi guys about the trip?"

"No. I was planning on having you tell them."

Kyoko squealed and thanked him profusely before heading out to get to her bridge rock job. She flew past Ren and Yashiro will a cheered goodbye as she hurried to her bike and made it to the Bridge Rock building in record time.

Shooting through the door and into the room where her three friends always gathered she danced around the room in excitement. Shinichi and Yuusei were openly laughing at her antics and Hikaru was grinning in a amusement.

Finally Kyoko slowed to a stop and she faced the trio with a giant grin.

"Guess what!"

"What?" The three boys chorused.

"You guys are going on the LME vacation cruise!" Kyoko cheered.

"WHAT?!"

Kyoko laughed and took a seat next to Hikaru. "President decided that the love-me members, Tsuruga-San and Yashrio-San, and you three have all been working so hard that he's letting us take a week off! We're going on a two day cruise to a quaint vacation town where we will stay three days and then two days back on the cruise ship!"

The three guys looked at each other and let out a whooping cheer.

"Group hug!" Yuusei called, yanking Shinichi up with one hand and Hikaru up with the other.

Kyoko laughed at them and Hikaru adopted a evil grin, grabbing her arm and tugging her into the group hug. Somehow she ended up in the middle being squeezed to death by Yuusei and Shinichi. Hikaru was gentle and kept the boys from strangling her.

The hug was one of the nicest sensations there was.

* * *

Kyoko put her suitcase in it's designated spot before turning to her roommate with a smile. Chiori wasn't able to come because her family was taking a vacating at the same time. Kanae was sitting on the upper bunk that she had claimed for the entire cruise.

"Hey Moko-San! I was going to go see how Hikaru, Shinichi and Yuusei are settling in since their across from us. You coming?"

Kanae shook her head and held up her book. Kyoko nodded and waved cheerily before smoothing her dress and waltzing across the hall to knock on the door. Hikaru opened it and smiled at her before sliding out before closing it behind him.

"Hey Kyoko-chan. Their still getting dressed. What can I do for you?"

Kyoko fidgeted. "Um I was hoping to ask you guys a favour."

Hikaru smiled easily and leaned up against the wall casually with his hands tucked into his pockets. "Sure, what's up?"

"Tsuruga-San doesn't know that I'm Bo and I really don't want him to. If he asks please don't tell him what I do."

Hikaru looked surprised. "Ok! Me and the guys will just tell him that you work off stage. It's believable from what I've heard of your Love-Me tasks. If you don't mind my asking why?"

"Um, I'd rather not say." Kyoko quietly.

Hikaru smiled and nodded. Suddenly her stomach rumbled. Both of them looked startled before bursting into laughter. Hikaru poked his head into his room and called to the guys.

"I'm heading to the snack bar on the deck with Kyoko-chan. You guys can meet us when your done if you want." He called.

The boys shouted their acknowledgement and Hikaru closed the door before turning and smiling. Kyoko went pink in embarrassment.

"You don't have to come, I understand that you would want to hang out with your friends." Kyoko said quietly.

Hikaru shook his head with a smile and slung a arm around her shoulders, steering her towards the stairs that led down to the main deck.

"I am hanging with a friend, I'm hanging with you. I'm around those goofs everyday and hanging with you, my pretty and kind friend is a welcome break from the doofuses."

Kyoko's eyes lit up. "You consider me a friend?!"

Hikaru stopped and turned his head to look at her, arm not moving from its place around her shoulders. "What do you mean? Of course I do! I've always considered you my friend. All the guys have. Your one of our favourite people."

Kyoko blinked in surprise. "Oh."

"Do you consider us your friends?"

"Yes...I just thought that since I'm not as high up in the entertainment industry as you I would simply be your kohai." Kyoko admitted quietly.

"No way! Your our equal in every way. Ask the guys if you don't believe me."

"I believe you Hikaru-San."

"Kun."

Kyoko looked up to stare at Hikaru.

"Aren't we friends? Friends would use the affix kun with their friends. Yuusei and Shinichi and I would much prefer you use the honourific kun with us."

Kyoko nodded slowly. "Alright, Hikaru-kun."

They chatted about lighter topics as they went down to the deck and headed towards the snack bar. As she glanced around she noticed Ren and Yashiro standing at the railing of the boat.

"Oh look! It's Tsuruga-San and Yashiro-San!" Kyoko said, pointing.

As if they had heard her the two man turned to face them. Kyoko waved and Ren strode purposefully across the deck towards her with Yashiro following.

"Hello Mogami-San. How are you?" He asked with a smile.

Kyoko furrowed his brows, why didn't he greet Hikaru and why was he looking at her shoulder with the gentlemanly smile?

"I'm good Tsuruga-San. Hi Yashiro-San!"

Yashiro smiled. "Hey Kyoko-chan! Who's this?"

"This is Hikaru-kun. He's the leader of bridge rock." Kyoko introduced.

Hikaru gave a easy smile. "Nice to meet you guys."

"Same here Hikaru-San!" Yashiro said cheerfully.

Yashiro was for once not dressed in a suit, but instead in a pair of nicely fitted dark wash jeans and a button down shirt he had left untucked. He looked much more relaxed then he usually did.

Ren didn't say anything but just flashed his gentlemanly smile. Kyoko was starting to get uncomfortable and much to her shock and horror she was also starting to get a bit irritated with her sempi.

"Well, let's go get some food Hikaru-kun. Talk to you later Yashiro-San, Tsuruga-San." Kyoko said with a bright and utterly false smile.

Hikaru nodded and they left, Hikaru's arm a little bit tighter around her shoulders. They grabbed some food and took a seat at a far table and began to eat in silence.

* * *

Yashiro watched as Ren walked away and sighed. He knew that his charge needed some time to himself and so entertained himself by watching Kyoko and Hikaru eat their food in silence.

Once they were done and had cleared up their table the two of them started to walk along the railing of the deck. They stopped several feet away from his seat in the shadows and started to talk.

"Kyoko-chan, did something happen between you and Tsuruga-San?"

Kyoko gripped the railing so tight that her knuckles turned white.

"I don't know what I did this time! I hate it! He always does that. Most of the time I have no idea what I did wrong and he shoots that lying gentlemanly smile at me and then I stress and sometimes can't even get into my rolls cause I'm so worried about what I could have done to upset him!"

Hikaru looked startled by her outburst.

"I have to be so careful what I say around him for fear that I'll upset him and I feel awful for getting angry about his way of being around me because he's my senior and a very talented actor. But sometimes being around him feels like Shotaro all over again except for Tsuruga-San is more scary and his approval of me as a actress is very important when he's one of the best actors in the industry." She admitted quietly.

Hikaru's face went from startled at the mention of Sho to a hint of anger at her mention of Ren being scary and her always fearing his reaction to her words. Yashiro felt sick at hearing her personal feelings for his charge.

Hikaru sighed and wrapped one arm around her shoulders. Kyoko leaned into the comforting half hug and he gently wrapped the other arm around her, linking his hands together at the fingers and allowing them to just casually rest on her shoulder.

The tension in Kyoko's shoulders lessened and her head leaned against Hikaru's shoulders and Yashiro knew that if Ren hadn't already lost this girl to the kind man comforting her he would soon if he didn't make his move on Kyoko.

* * *

Hikaru lay on his bed looking up at the ceiling as he thought about the conversation he had just had with Kyoko. It worried him that she felt small around Ren and yet she was still willing to stick it through.

She had told him about what Sho Fuwa had done to her several months ago when Sho had stormed into the Bridge Rock building to "talk" to her and she had gone to him for help getting away from the blond singer so his stomach clenched at the idea of Kyoko going through that again.

"Hey dude! We were planning on hitting the karaoke bar tonight, just the three of us. You in?"

Hikaru looked up at Shinichi and Yuusei and smiled. He'd talk to them about his concerns and get their opinion, if nothing else it would ease his worry for Kyoko.

"Sure! Let's go."

* * *

So what did you think? Reviews are welcome! Flames shall be laughed at, posted for others to laugh at, and ignored as I continue the story.


	2. Swim Time

Hello wonderful readers!

So I've finished editing all the chapters so in the next few weeks I'll be posting the entire story. Hopefully you enjoy this next chapter and I'd love to hear your feedback!

Disclaimer:

I don't own Skip Beat.

* * *

 **Swim Time**

* * *

It was the second day on the cruise boat and Kanae and Kyoko were both taking a nap when there was a knock at the door. Kyoko was pulled out of a lovely dream about being a fairy and ran her fingers through her hair with a yawn. She had been asleep for about a half hour and knew that it was probably time to unearth.

Another knock jerked her back to the present and she opened the door and rubbed her eyes tiredly. Standing there was Hikaru, Yuusei and Shinichi. All three looked startled at her appearance, Hikaru's face turning pink and looking away. Yuusei let out a low wolf whistle, a teasing grin flickering across his face. Shinichi hit Yuusei on the back of the head but was grinning as well.

"We were, uh...we were wondering of you and Kanae wanted to join us for a swim. They have a massive pool and a tube slide set up and we figured it would be really fun to hit the pool before joining everyone for dinner."

Kyoko's eyes lit up and she smiled brightly. "Sure! Let me just wake her up!"

Hikaru coughed, still not looking at her. "You might want to change as well."

Kyoko looked at him puzzled before looking down and letting out a shriek and slamming the door. She was only in a lime green sports bra and white cotton shorts for sleeping. She heard Yuusei and Shinichi laughing outside the door and Hikaru scolding them.

Kanae had been woken by her scream and as Kyoko pawed through her luggage for her swimsuit she filled Kanae in on their invite. Kanae agreed that going swimming with the Bridge Rock guys sounded like fun. Kyoko found her skirted one piece that was black on the bottom and sparkly teal on top.

Kanae changed into a simple black one piece that suited her well. Both grabbed towels and slipped their feet into sandals and joined the boys in the hallway. The five of them headed up to the pool and while Kyoko and Kanae were putting there towels down the three boys pulled off their shirts and did cannonballs into the deep end of the pool.

The excitement was contagious because moments later the girls let out whoops and took of to do a running leap into the pool. Once they had surfaced they began to goof off and just have a generally good time. After about a half hour of playing Hikaru went to get some water and Kyoko looked up at the giant slide.

You could go down two at a time on the double tubes which was perfect cause Kyoko was a bit freaked about going alone. So she turned to Kanae, begging her to join her.

"I don't want to go on the slide. I'm happy here. Just go alone."

Kyoko pouted and made her eyes big. "Pleeeeeease? I'm a scaredy cat and don't want to go alone."

"MO! Leave me be in the pool! I don't want to go! Go alone!"

Kyoko pouted and took a half step back only to collide with a wet chest.

"Go alone on what?"

Kyoko squeaked and spun to face Hikaru who steadied her before she could fall. Her face flushed at the sight of his toned chest bared for the world to see and closed her eyes.

Even with her eyes closed she could clearly see Hikaru in her mind. Kyoko mentally glared at herself. What was wrong with her? Why was she reacting this way?!

She heard him chuckle and release her before taking a step back out of her space.

"I'm to scared to go on the slide alone but I really want to try it but Kanae is a meanie and won't go with me." Kyoko grumbled, attempting to regain some semblance of normality in her brain.

"I'll go. I wanted to try it to and going on a double tube will prevent it from flipping on the corners." Hikaru offered and Kyoko grinned.

"Sweet! I would love to go! Come on!" Kyoko cheered and grabbed Hikaru's wrist before dragging him along behind her as she almost ran across the pool deck towards the giant staircase that led up to the top of the slide.

"Slow down!" Hikaru called laughingly.

Kyoko slowed down slightly and Hikaru slid his arm out of her grasp so that he could firmly grasp her hand. Kyoko slowed at the electric sensation of Hikaru's warm hand holding her own and he caught up so that he was walking at her side.

"I'll take the seat behind you so that my head isn't in your way of seeing the ocean and the boat. I love how they made the slide a clear tube." He said calmly.

Kyoko nodded and they headed up the stairs, Hikaru not releasing his grasp on her hand much to her surprise and slight pleasure. As soon as it fully sunk in that she was enjoying holding Hikaru's hand she went off on another mental spaz attack. She was not supposed to enjoy stuff like this!

The atmosphere on the ship must have been effecting her head. Kyoko gave a sigh of relief, yeah that was the problem. It was just the ship atmosphere making her feel like that.

They stood in line and after a ten minute wait they were handed a tube. Kyoko climbed into the front and noticed that there was only a tiny thin divider between the two seats on the tube.

"Your girlfriends back will be pressed against your front so that you move to the sides at the same time and don't unbalance the tube. The handles are at your sides. Go ahead and climb on." The attendant told them.

Kyoko flushed at being called his girlfriend but before she could say anything she felt the tube jostle around and all her attention focused on holding onto the handles at her side. Hikaru took his seat behind her and true to the attendants word she was indeed leaning back against his chest.

"Ready?"

Kyoko gave a jerky nod and she saw Hikaru tighten his grip on the handles before giving the go ahead. Then they were pushed and began a steep decent as the slide began to drop drastically. Kyoko let out a half shriek and pressed herself as far back as she could without giving thought to the person behind her.

They went down the slide with Kyoko having her eyes squeezed shut as she pressed against Hikaru. She could hear deep chuckles behind her as they picked up speed and Kyoko began to pray that they would survive the ride. After what felt like a eternity but was only three minutes the ride ended and they were spit out of the slide and into the pool beneath.

"Hey Kyoko, it's ok, we've survived. We can leave the pool now."

Kyoko opened her eyes and realized that they were indeed in the pool that the slide emptied into. She slipped off the edge of the tube and watched as Hikaru did the same thing. They dragged the tube behind them as they got out of the pool and handed the tube to a attendant.

Kyoko and Hikaru walked back to the pool and Kyoko took a seat on a two person lounge chair. Kanae, Yuusei and Shinichi had saved it for them for when they returned.

"Mind if I join you?" Hikaru asked, standing next to her.

"Oh! Sure!" Kyoko moved over to the opposite edge so that he could take a seat.

He sat down and as they watched their friends in the pool they chatted. Kyoko was in stitches as Hikaru told her tales of when Bridge Rock was first formed. Finally the other three in their little group were done playing and everyone went back to their rooms to change.

* * *

Lory sat at the head of the table waiting for Bridge Rock and the girls to arrive. Suddenly he heard laughter and the sounds of young voices approaching. Craning his neck he saw the door being opened by Shinchi. Yuusei bowed and offered a arm to Kanae who was dressed quite nice. The tall icy beauty smiled warmly and accepted the arm the way one would of a good friend or brother.

Sitting up straighter he saw that Hikaru and Kyoko were in the back of the pack. The smiling idol turned to Kyoko and mimicked his friend, bowing to Kyoko and offering a arm. Kyoko laughed, the tinkling sound drawing the attention of several males in the restaurant.

He saw Ren tense next to him as Kyoko and Hikaru took a seat at the other end of the table and engaged in a lively debate about something to do with ducks. The Bridge Rock boys, Kyoko and Kanae seemed to be getting along amazingly. However, the really thing that caught Lory's attention was the rosy blush that adorned his number one Love-me girls cheeks as she talked with a certain young man.

He saw how Kyoko seemed fully at ease talking about whatever came to mind and Hikaru sat their, listening intently with his chin resting on his hand as he sometimes threw into the conversation, but usually just listened and smiled at her bright excited expression.

Lory loved Ren like his own son, but Yashiro had told him about the conversation he had overheard and Lory was forcing himself to accept that Kyoko's love salvation might not come at the hands of Ren.

However, watching Hikaru and seeing the way he was giving his undivided attention gave his heart hope that perhaps Kyoko would find love one day.

* * *

So what did you think? Reviews are welcome? Flames shall be laughed at, posted for others to laugh at, and ignored as I continue the story.


	3. Girls Just Wanna Have Ice Cream

Hello wonderful readers!

So this chapter was a harder one to write the the last two. I want to make the Hikaru challenge part of the story believable which means making Ren less of a all consuming and important figure in her life.

I don't want to turn Ren into a jerk because even in a situation where he doesn't get the girl I really don't think he would treat Kyoko cruelly. He would definitely struggle but I don't see him turning into a massive bullying jerk.

For these next two or so chapters Ren's usual MO such as his possessiveness and his automatic response to treat Kyoko like a lowly kohai when met with crazy situations such as run ins with Sho will be cast in a less favourable light then in the manga. Please don't hate me for that because I promise he won't become some sort of ogre!

* * *

 **Girls Just Wanna Have Ice Cream**

* * *

"Welcome to the town of Canosa! A small seaside town where the best ocean resort in all of Japan lives!" The president announced flamboyantly.

Kyoko bounced on her limo seat as she looked out the window at the quaint little city. They drove to a beachside resort that rented out villa out to rich people. They arrived and Lory went up to the desk to confirm their reservations. Kyoko watched as Lory stood straighter after hearing whatever they said.

Finally he returned with a sigh.

"There was a mix up and our fourth villa's reservations was dropped. The only cabin that has a extra room is the Ishibashi boys cabin so girls your going to have to stay there."

Yuusei and Shinichi cheered and slung their arms around Kyoko and Kanae with a grin.

"Party time!"

Kanae rolled her eyes and Kyoko laughed at them. They were all given keys to their cabins and sent to go settle in for the next three days.

* * *

The beach cabin was spacious and fit them without a problem. There were three bedrooms in total, Kyoko and Kanae shared one, Yuusei and Shinichi shared the second one and Hikaru got the smallest one to himself.

Once everyone was settled in Kanae dropped to sit down next to her.

"Hey, the boys are planning to be lazy butts so I was wondering if you wanted to go get ice cream with me."

Kyoko's eyes went sparkly.

"I WOULD LOVE TOOOOOOO!"

The boys all looked over, startled by the exasperated exclamation of "Mo!". However, upon seeing Kyoko clinging to her dark haired friend the three of them simply laughed and went back to their conversation. They were all more then used to Kyoko's over exuberant nature and the reaction of those around her.

Once Kanae had peeled Kyoko off the two girls headed out to the massive pools the resort had where they sold what was advertised ad "the best soft ice cream in Japan".

"Kanae-San? Kyoko-chan?"

Both girls turned to look at who was calling them only to see Yashiro walking over.

"You guys wanted to try their supposed best soft ice cream to?" He asked with a smile when he reached them.

Kyoko nodded eagerly.

"Yes! It's going to be amazing!"

Yashiro nodded in agreement and then looked at Kanae.

"Do you girls want to join me and Ren over at that table in the corner?"

Kyoko looked over to see her Sempi sitting at a shade covered table in the corner of the patio reading.

"Tsuruga-San!" She called, abandoning her friends to go see what her esteemed Sempi was doing.

* * *

Kanae sighed as she watched Kyoko hurry over to where the dark haired actor had looked up with a warm smile upon hearing Kyoko's voice. He had pulled out the chair next to him in a clear invitation for her to talk a seat.

"If he hurts her..." Kanae muttered to herself as Kyoko was seen pointing at the book in a clear question.

"Pardon?"

Kanae jerked her head to look at Yashiro and instantly regretted it as she tried to fight down the blush.

"N-nothing. Let's go get the ice cream."

"Alright." Yashiro agreed with a smile as they headed over to join the back of the line.

As they walked Kanae glanced at Yashiro out of the corner of her eye. She had talked with the manager plenty of times since Kyoko talked with Ren plenty of times which meant that so did Kanae.

However usually the manager was dressed in dull suits which still looked somewhat attractive but were easy to look over which was something Kanae had been taking advantage for a very long time.

But now...

The brown haired manager was currently dressed in fitted jeans and a button down shirt that had been left undone to reveal a surprisingly toned chest, and with his hands lazily hanging out of his pockets...

To put it plain he looked hot.

Kanae restrained the urge to hit her head repeatedly against something hard. She was not a giggly, air brained girl who drooled over every male she saw! This was ridiculous!

"Kanae-San. Is there something on my face?"

Kanae started before turning to face him head on.

"What?"

"Well you've been studying me for several minutes now and I was wondering if there was something on my face."

As Kanae sputtered she missed the slight smile on Yashiro's face and the glint of affection and amusement in his eyes.

"No! I was just thinking that you look different when not wearing a suit."

Yashiro's lips twitched.

"So you were admiring my looks?" He asked in a innocent sounding tone.

"NO!"

Yashiro burst into laughter and as a now bright red Kanae sputtered he gently steered her up to the counter.

"Four soft ice creams please."

The server nodded before giving Kanae who was bright red and sulking a odd look.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine."

Yashiro grinned as he watched her glare pointedly at the counter.

This week could be interesting.

* * *

Kyoko sat next to Ren listening intently as he explained the roll he was doing research for. Hearing a shriek from behind her however pulled her attention away from Ren and she turned in her chair to see Kanae, bright red in the face and Yashiro who had a impish grin on his face.

"Kanae has met her maaaatch~" Kyoko singsonged.

"What?"

Kyoko turned back to Ren with a smile on her face.

"Moko-san has a massive crush on Yashiro-San even if she won't admit it. And from the way Yashiro-San watches her I'd say he reciprocates his feelings. It's just funny how Moko-San is super cold and detached from people and so she has no idea how to react when she develops feelings for someone."

Ren watched Yashiro and Kanae with a slight smirk.

"That's rather amusing."

Kyoko nodded and watched the two of them walk over with ice cream cones. Kanae handed Kyoko her come before sitting down in the chair across from her. Yashiro settling down next to her.

"So how have you girls been enjoying the cruise so far?" Ren asked.

"It's been a welcome break. And being around the Ishibashi boys is really fun. They make me think of my cousins." Kanae said around a mouthful of ice cream.

"It's really fun! I get to room with Moko-San which is really fun because it's like a sleepover and hanging around with the Ishibashi boys is awesome. I'm really glad we ended up in their cabin."

Ren's smile became gentlemanly and sparkly and Kyoko shrank in her seat.

"Um...how are you guys enjoying it so far?"

Yashiro let out a slightly irritated sigh towards Ren that was noticed by Kanae before he answered Kyoko's question in hoped of distracting the girl from Ren's aura.

"We're having a great time Kyoko-chan. It's very rare that we get a break like this and to be able to completely relax like this is wonderful. Did you get a chance to try the slide on the ship?"

Kyoko was successfully distracted by Yashiro's question. Kanae however nearly choked on her ice cream and jabbed a elbow into Yashiro's side. But it was to late.

"It was scary! I wanted to go on the slide with Kanae but she wouldn't go so I ended up going with Hikaru Ishibashi. The whole slide is made of glass which allows you to look out over the ocean which might have been cool if the tube hadn't been going so fast because of our combined weights. I screamed almost the whole way down and once we finally got to the bottom pool Hikaru-Kun wouldn't stop laughing at me."

Upon hearing Hikaru's name Yashiro stiffened. Ren's scary aura had only gotten worse.

"Mogami-San. How do you know the Ishibashi boys so well?"

Kyoko was silent for a moment before responding.

"I work backstage as a LoveMe assignment. I really love working with the Bridge Rock people and the Ishibashi's are really fun to hang around. It was my first LoveMe job and even when I was given the chance to stop doing the job I turned it down."

Ren's scary smile had yet to leave and he turned all of his attention to Kyoko.

"Do you spend a lot of time outside of the show with them?"

"Just before they go on stage. Oh and I went out for pizza a couple times with them! Why?"

Ren shifted before seeming to land on a reason.

"Because I noticed how friendly you seemed with Hikaru and I don't want you to do a repeat of what happened with Kijima."

Kyoko's jaw dropped at his words and without even thinking about being polite she responded.

"It's not even close to a repeat of that incident! Hikaru-kun, Shinichi-kun and Yuusei-kun have looked out for me from the moment I started working with them! They've always been kind and when Sho found me and came storming into the Bridge Rock building I couldn't find anyone to help me but Hikaru-Kun knew something was wrong and made Sho go away without even knowing why I didn't want to be around him. Hikaru-Kun is nothing like Kijima-San!"

Ren, Kanae and Yashiro were all staring open mouthed at Kyoko who went bright red and stood abruptly, her chair screeching on the patio as she bowed to Ren.

"I'm sorry! I know I am a very rude kohai but I don't want you to think bad of Hikaru-kun, Shinichi-kun and Yuusei-kun." Kyoko said softly before turning to Kanae.

"I think I'm going to go back to the villa. I'll see you there."

* * *

Ren watched Kyoko go with a tight feeling in his chest.

"Tsuruga."

Ren turned back to Kanae in surprise at the ice in her voice. Upon meeting her narrowed eyed gaze Ren froze.

"She in finally allowing herself to connect to people outside of just us three. Her heart is finally healing from what Sho Fuwa and her mom did to her. You screw up and you'll find yourself six feet under. Understand?"

She never gave Ren a chance to respond before standing to her feet and walking away.

"See you around glasses." She called over her shoulder casually.

Ren stared after her for a moment before turning to look at his manager.

"You need to make up your mind Ren."

"What?"

Yashiro sighed.

"You can't get angry when Kyoko hangs around guys and try to push her away from them while not making any moves of your own. As much as I want to see you together you can't wait forever and expect her to not go for other guys."

Ren opened his mouth to argue and Yashiro cut him off.

"Ren she's eighteen now! If you aren't going to make a move of your own you shouldn't be holding her back. It's wrong!"

Ren slumped forward with a sigh.

"I just need a little bit longer. I don't want to rush her."

Yashiro growled under his breath.

"Fine! But don't say I never warned you when another male in her life who has also shown her kindness and understanding and has one up on you by not being restricted to Sempi status sweeps her out from under you!"

Yashiro sighed when Ren didn't respond and left the table leaving the dark haired actor alone.

Ren glared at his hands on the table in front of him. Someone steal Kyoko from him?

Never.

* * *

So what do you think? Reviews are welcome! Flames shall be laughed at, posted for others to laugh at, and ignored as I continue the story.


	4. A Scare

Hello wonderful readers!

Two chapters in one day! I am on a roll:D

This wasn't my favourite chapter to write about because of...well you'll see. Anyway, I'll stop blabbering now and let you read. This chapter moves a tad fast which I'm not entirely pleased about but I'm working with old writing so I guess that's to be expected.

Disclaimer:

I don't own Skip Beat.

* * *

 **A Scare**

* * *

The next morning after everyone had gotten up an had their breakfast Kyoko noticed a flyer on the beside table saying that people could go for bike rides around the resort.

"Does anyone want to go for a bike ride?"

When she looked around the room she found Kanae was lazing on one of the chairs. And the three boys all sprawled across the couch and one other chair.

"Nope."

Hikaru, Yuusei and Shinichi all shook their heads.

"Sorry Kyoko." Hikaru said with a smile.

Kyoko sighed but smiled anyway.

"Oh well. I'll just go by myself."

Kyoko waved to them before heading out, taking one of the bikes out of the shed attached to their cabin and securing a helmet over her head. Cheerfully hopping onto her bike Kyoko set off down the path, humming under her breath.

Kyoko followed a path down to the beach, stopping the bike next to the side of the cliff that towered over the beach. She laid out a towel and plopped down on it with a bright smile as she looked out over the waves.

She heard someone playing in the waves further away but didn't other going over to see who. Kyoko was lying back and allowing herself to drift as she watched the fluffy clouds float by when a loud and obnoxious voice sounded a few feet behind her.

"Kyoko?!"

She bolted upright and turned to stare in horror at a certain blonde nightmare.

"SHO?!"

"What are you doing here?! You don't have enough money to stay at a fancy place like this?! Did you-...you came with pretty boy Tsuruga didn't you?! You can't do that! Your mine!"

Kyoko bristled at the possessiveness in his tone.

"What?! No! And I do not belong to you! I belong to myself! Your such a stuck up jerk!"

Sho glared at her in fury.

"Don't lie! I saw pretty boy earlier!"

"I'm on a company vacation!"

"Yeah right! There's no way your company would spend money on you! Only pretty boy Tsuruga would! Your just the same as you always were, a stupid love struck girl!"

Kyoko leapt to her feet and turned on the blonde star.

"What do you know?! If you were a girl your behaviour would be considered loose so your hardly one to talk." Kyoko snarled.

Instantly she could tell that she had hit some sort of hot spot for him because his face went dark red with rage and he lashed one arm out, grabbing and her pinning her to the rocky cliff wall behind her.

Kyoko gasped and slammed out her loose arm to hit him but he caught her wrist and pinned them both to the wall, stepping up to her and pinning the rest of her between his own body and the cliff behind her.

Sho ticked her off and upset her but never had he ever scared her. In that moment Kyoko was just as scared of Sho as she had been if Reino.

And worse, she knew it was her own fault.

"Sho! Stop your hurting me! Let go!" Kyoko cried, struggling against his grip.

Sho's furious gaze met her's and Kyoko's heart slammed in her chest.

"You think you have the right to call me loose? You, a plain girl with no sex appeal? You've probably done more then I have simply to get where you are in the industry."

At his words she forgot all about her goal to get free and reacted rather predictably for Kyoko.

"Not likely! No male has ever touched this body! I'd even have still unsoiled lips if it weren't for the fact that you stole my kiss! It was like feeding a anteater with my mouth!" Kyoko spat.

Sho's jaw dropped.

"Did you just compare my kiss to locking lips with a ANTEATER!"

Kyoko raised her chin mulishly.

"Yes I did. So what?"

Sho's face held a look of utter fury for a moment before suddenly going flat. No emotion. Nothing.

"Um...Sho?"

"A anteater hmm? If you felt that then I apparently didn't do it right. I'll have to fix that right now. Once I'm done you won't ever be able to comparing me to a anteater again."

Kyoko's eyes widened and she began to struggle in earnest but Sho was to strong and his lips crashed into her own in a bruising kiss.

"Mmmpph!"

Kyoko tried to rip her hands free but to no avail. She heard a furious shout distantly but was far to focused on escaping to pay attention. A single tear escaped as her mind flashed back to what Reino tried to do to her.

Realization that she wouldn't be able to free her arms came at the same time as realization that her legs were free and so without further ado she brought her knee up to slam it into a place where the sun don't shine.

Sho released her and dropped to the ground with a howl, causing Kyoko to nearly collapse to the ground. Sho rolled around on the ground in pain and Kyoko bolted for her bike, grabbing her towel and shoving it into the bike basket before going to get on.

She was however frozen in place by a deep and very, very angry sounding voice that most certainly didn't belong to Sho.

"Leaving so soon Mogami-san?"

* * *

Kyoko slowly turned to face Ren who was standing only a few feet away with his arms crossed in front of him.

"Tsuruga-san!" She gasped, looking over at Sho in horror.

"Yes Mogami-San, I did see that. Care to explain why you and Sho were kissing in the middle of the beach?"

Kyoko gaped at her mentor, horrified by the lying gentlemanly smile. He was really really mad. Her little demons would have been partying in the hostile atmosphere had she not just had such a scare. Currently her demons could be found huddling in the corner of her mind.

"I didn't want him to kiss me but he was to strong to stop! I'm very, very sorry! I know that I could never make up for how unprofessional I am and I know you said that the actors rule of heart only apples once to a non acting kiss by the same person but maybe this can be a exception?"

Ren didn't speak and his gaze was like stone.

"And you never thought to call for help or maybe just leave when he showed up?"

Kyoko shook her head and swallowed hard.

"No. I didn't think of that."

"I'm disappointed. I thought that after last time you would be more careful about protecting yourself."

Kyoko's lip wobbled and Ren turned his attention to the gasping teen rolling on the ground next to him.

"Now we need to figure out what to do with him. Do you have any ideas Mogami-San?"

But Kyoko had already fled.

* * *

Kyoko hopped off the bike before it had even stopped and chained it to the other ones with trembling hands as she tried to pretend the film over her eyes wasn't tears and she hadn't been scared of her childhood friend.

Once she had put everything away she hurried into the house and tried to sneak into her room without notice so she could cry in peace.

"Hey Kyoko I w-are you crying?!" Hikaru's startled voice could be heard.

Kyoko spun to face her friend while wiping her eyes and Hikaru's face went from confused to worried in a split second. He rushed over to where she stood and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Kyoko what happened?"

Kyoko's big eyes filled up at her bottom lip wiggled and she let out a wail as she confessed everything that had happened from the situation today, to the kiss on Valentine's Day, to Reino from Vie Ghoul stalking her.

"I know that I am a horrible person and it's all my fault and now my esteemed Sempi is mad at me and everyone would be ashamed of me if they heard and I'm soooooorryyy!" She wailed.

While Kyoko blubbered Hikaru gently led her over to the couch and guided her to sit down before settling next to her and pulling her into a hug. Once she was finished with the loud wails Hikaru pulled back and tilted her head to look up at him.

"Hey. What happened today wasn't your fault anymore than what happened with that Reino creep. You guys may have been throwing out unkind insults at each other but no one has the right to intimidate you physically or verbally. Him pinning you and then kissing you like that was not your fault and you are not to blame."

Kyoko stared at him with wide eyes and he continued.

"Nor was Ren Tsuruga's reaction your fault. Everyone deals with fear differently and your instinctual response is to fight alone. That's not something easily changed and for many people it can never be changed. It's instinct. His reaction was unfair and uncalled for. He should have been more focused on you, not that you hadn't called or whatever crap he was mad about. I swear, he might have gotten mad but I'm not mad at you."

Kyoko studied Hikaru's face only for her eyes to well up again. Hikaru was rather pale with a bright red spot on each cheekbone and his lips were tightened so much they had gone white. Even the muscles in his neck were tight.

"But you look angry!"

"I am, but not at you. I'm angry at Sho for doing what he did, I'm angry at Ren for reacting the way he did both times with the whole crap that the actors rule of heart can only work once and not thinking about you and how having a kiss forced onto you not once but twice would effect you after the stalker situation and how scared you had been then instead of thinking of his own feelings. And I'm angry...no I'm livid that that sick creep Reino for terrorizing you the way he did.

Then Hikaru's gaze softened.

"Kyoko, stronger women then you who were experts in the fighting arts have crumbled after going through a near rape situation like you did with Reino, yet not only are you stronger as ever but you also have faced against Reino after and held your own. I have absolutely no reason to be angry with you."

Kyoko stared wide eyed at Hikaru, shocked by the gentle and encouraging words.

"No one has ever said that to me before. That it wasn't my fault I mean. I guess it was implied but..."

Hikaru was silent and Kyoko relaxed into his side without thinking as his hand gently rubbed soothing circles on her upper arm where his hand was resting.

"If Kanae-San were to know that you had sometimes wondered if it was your fault she would be the first to tell you it was absolutely not."

Kyoko smiled.

"That's true."

"Shinichi and Yuusei would say the exact same thing. In fact I would probably have to keep them from hunting Reino down so they could kick the crap out of him."

Kyoko laughed at his words and Hikaru grinned.

"There you go! The Kyoko smile I know!"

"Thanks Hikaru-kun." Kyoko said, giving the older talent a impulsive hug.

Just as she was about to pull back Hikaru's arms wrapped around her shoulders and Kyoko was pulled close. Her eyes widened as she found herself held tightly in Hikaru's arms.

He smells good.

As that thought flitted through her head Kyoko nearly gave herself whiplash. How could she think something like that?!

Before she could react and pull away the front door opened and Hikaru released her before walking over to the door.

"Did you find the information you wanted?" He asked while Kyoko snuck out of the living room and into the bedroom.

Closing the door silently behind her Kyoko threw herself down onto her bed with a muffled wail. While she raged in her mind the door opened and closed before Kanae spoke.

"The boys have gone out for smoothies which means they won't be back for a bit."

Kyoko grumbled in acknowledgment.

"Now tell me what's got you in meltdown mode."

"This whole vacation is messing with my mind!" Kyoko burst out.

Kanae dropped down next to her on the bed.

"What are you talking about?"

"First there was the zingy electric feeling, and then there's the fact that I've noticed he looks...anyway and then there's the whole he smells good thing, and then I was upset when Tsuruga-San inferred things about him and I was a horrible kohai by talking back and even when I felt this way about Tsuruga-San last year before I realized he would never respond even if he did feel the same I didn't feel this safe with Tsuruga-San! I haaaaaate this!"

Kanae blinked and then blinked again as she tried to decipher what Kyoko was saying. It took her a moment before there was a flash of understanding and Kanae started to laugh.

Kyoko turned to her with a Mio like expression.

"What are you laughing about?"

"Kyoko, you have developed feelings for a kind, caring, friendly, genuine and mature guy and your upset?! Hikaru really cares about you as a person and has been kind to you since you started working around him. All the other guys around you, Tsuruga included, have been inconsistent in their treatment of you so why are you upset about liking the one that isn't?"

Kyoko opened and closed her mouth for a moment before letting out a aha sound.

"I'm upset for the same reason you hate your crush on Yashiro-san!"

Kanae blanched before glaring at Kyoko.

"That's low."

"But do you understand?!"

Kanae slumped with a muttered curse as she glared at the wall.

"Fine. You win. I understand why you hate the whole...feelings thing. But the point that he's better to have feelings for than some of the alternatives still stands."

Kyoko sighed and the two girls indulged in their misery together.

* * *

PLEASE DON'T KILL ME! (Ducks behind chair to avoid flying objects)

I know, I know, how could I do that to Ren. I hated writing it just as much as you hated reading it! But you have to admit, it does fit with the way Ren behaves when other guys are making moves on Kyoko in the manga, albeit shown in a less romantic appearing way.

To be honest, that part of his personality has always bothered me. I mean, on one hand he's in love with her and wants her to heal from what happened with her mom and Sho but on the other hand he refuses to allow her grow and develop even friendships with other guys. I'm not saying that Ren is a bad guy and I'm still a Ren/Kyoko supporter, I'm just saying that sometimes his possessiveness appears to restrict her at times rather then allow her to grow. Just my humble opinion:)

Anyway, I'm looking forward to hearing what you thought of this chapter! Please don't roast me alivewith raging flames, I promise to redeem Ren by the end of the next (and last) chapter.

* * *

So what do you think? Reviews are welcome! Flames shall be laughed at, posted for others to laugh at, and ignored as I continue the story.


	5. A Second Glance

Hello wonderful readers!

And so I now present to you the last chapter of my story submission to the Hikaru challenge! A big thanks to the users who were willing to give a non Kyoko/Ren pairing a chance and read my little story:)

I would also like to thank the users who took the time to review my story, reviews make me smile:) I always love hearing what people think of my stories.

I have to admit that I quite enjoyed going through these chapters and fixing them up before posting them, ever since bridge rock came into the manga and it became clear that Hikaru had a crush on Kyoko I've been hoping that Hikaru will get a chance at the girl.

My personal wish is that Hikaru and Kyoko start dating for a small time, giving Kyoko a chance to realize that being in a relationship with a guy doesn't have to be a scary thing. Eventually I see Hikaru realizing that Kyoko and his relationship is better off as just friends and her agreeing before eventually moving into a relationship with Ren.

I think that not only would this serve as a wake up call to Ren to get his butt in gear and confess to Kyoko but it will allow her a relationship that wasn't stressful in the begining and will make her more confident going into a relationship with someone like Ren that has a lot of baggage. Sometimes I see Kyoko behaving a bit like a doormat with Ren which isn't a heathy thing in a romantic relationship so being with someone as kind as Hikaru will allow her to realize that she has every right to stand her ground in something she wants.

Haha, just my own personal hope:)

Anyway, hopefully you enjoyed the story thus far and I'm really excited to present to you the last chapter of the story. This one didn't take to many fixes to become presentable which made me happy and I think it will make some of you fluff lovers smile:)

Disclaimer:

I don't own Skip Beat.

* * *

 **A Second Glance**

* * *

Kanae and Kyoko were sitting together on the back porch overlooking the beach reading when Yashiro walked over.

"Kanae-San, Kyoko-chan." He greeted pleasantly.

Kyoko smiled and greeted Yashiro while Kanae just stared at him.

"Kanae, would you be willing to take a walk with me?"

Kanae blinked.

"A walk?"

Yashiro smirked slightly.

"Yes. You know, that think where you use your legs to transport you from one place to another."

Kanae growled and threw a pillow at him which he merely leaned to the side with a laugh and watched as the pillow flew past his head and landed on the sand a few feet behind him.

"Your a jerk." Kanae growled.

"I know. So will you take a walk?"

Kanae put the book aside and stood abruptly before stalking down the stairs past him making Yashiro blink.

"Well are you coming glasses? You were the one that invited me."

Yashiro's eyes widened before he grinned widely and hurried after Kanae.

Kyoko was smiling as she watched them walk away. She couldn't wait to hear about this walk.

"There she is! Hey Kyoko-chan!"

Kyoko turned and shrieked as she turned to see Yuusei's face mere inches from her own with his cheeks puffed up like a puffer fish and his eyes crossed. She fell back off the chair, landing on the deck with a thump as Yuusei dissolved into laughter.

"That was hilarious!"

Hikaru and Shinichi rounded the corner to see Kyoko splayed on the deck and they both turned to Yuusei, their hands making connection with the back of his head at the same time.

"Idiot." Shinichi muttered.

Hikaru stepped around his friend and offered a hand that Kyoko accepted. As soon as Kyoko was standing he turned to Yuusei.

"Such a brat, scaring a lady on purpose."

Kyoko opened her mouth to counter his statement but Hikaru spoke before she could.

"Anyway, we came out here to ask if you wanted to join us. We were planning to use the two Sea-Doo's in the equipment shed attached to our villa."

Kyoko was about to say yes before hesitating.

"I'd like to but I've never ridden on one of those before." Kyoko admitted.

"No worries. Hikaru's awesome on one of these things so you'll just ride with him! Shinichi and I will do awesome and crazy tricks together on the other one. You'll be perfectly safe with Hikaru."

The three guys fixed her with identical hopeful expressions and Kyoko caved.

"All right. Just let me change into my swimsuit."

The boys all cheered and Kyoko ran to change before meeting them on the porch. She helped them take the Sea-Doo's down to the ocean and watched as the guys got them set up.

Yuusei hopped on to one with Shinichi behind him and they grinned as they revved the engine.

"Hop on!" Hikaru grinned as he offered a hand.

Kyoko hesitantly placed her own hand in his and swung on behind him. She placed her hands on his back with a tiny blush, making sure to keep a inch of space between them.

"Ready?"

"YesAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Kyoko's agreement faded into a shriek as Hikaru sped out of the shallows into the deeper water.

Her plans of keeping minimal contact with Hikaru were thrown to the wind as she found herself plastered to his back with her arms wrapped as tight as she could around his waist.

She heard Hikaru laugh and slow in the water, allowing Kyoko to recover.

"You okay?"

Kyoko took a shaking breath before responding.

"Yeah. Just wasn't expecting it to be like that."

Hikaru chuckled.

"How about this. I'll go slow and once your comfortable we can try faster speeds. If in the next fifteen/twenty minutes you still aren't enjoying yourself we can go back to the beach and we can hang out in the water there. I'll teach you how to body surf or something. Sound good?"

Kyoko nodded.

"Yeah."

Hikaru slowly started up again and eventually Kyoko was able to relax.

"You can go faster now!" She called.

Hikaru nodded before the Sea-Doo shot forward. Kyoko who was expecting the burst of speed this time couldn't help a delighted giggle.

Soon her and Hikaru's cheers and whoops filled the air, mixing with the shouts and laughter coming from the Sea-Doo that Yuusei and Shinichi were on.

* * *

Two and half hours later the four returned to the beach, tired but grinning from ear to ear.

Once they had put everything away and changed into shorts and tee's they all headed down to the food hut near the pool. They ordered a massive plate of fries for everyone to share and a milkshake each before settling down at a table.

They ate and chatted about random things. Then as Yuusei and Shinichi engaged in a conversation about some girl Hikaru turned to Kyoko.

"Have you ever tried dipping your fries into your milkshake?"

Kyoko made a face.

"Gross! No way!"

Hikaru laughed.

"Actually it's really good. Try it!" He said.

She shook her head and he rolled his eyes with a goodnatured grin before picking up a fry and dipping it in his vanilla milkshake and holding it out for her to grab and try. She shook her head and he smirked before holding it to her mouth.

"Come on, try it."

Kyoko gave him a look and he prodded her tightly closed lips with the fry.

"If you try this I'll try whatever food you want me to try outside of bugs."

Kyoko studied him.

"Promise?"

He smiled.

"Promise."

With one more disbelieving look she opened her mouth and allowed Hikaru to drop the fry and ice cream in. She chewed hesitantly, fully expecting to hate it.

"Oh my god this tastes amazing!" She gasped.

Hikaru grinned and pumped one fist in the air.

"Beat that!"

Kyoko swallowed and grabbed another fry before turning to her milkshake.

"I shall never doubt you again."

* * *

The next day everyone piled back onto the cruise ship for the return voyage. Kanae and Kyoko made sure that their suitcases were settled in their room before heading up to the top to meet with everyone for lunch.

The day passed with laughter and jokes as everyone sat around talking about the cool things that happened on the trip. Kyoko went out of her way to avoid making eye contact with Ren and instead focused on everyone else.

Which is probably why she was the first to notice that Yashiro and Kanae were holding hands.

Upon pointing that out with a shriek and a smile the table then turned to focus on the couple.

After conversation started to dwindle everyone ended up retreating to their cabins and a unanimous decision to have dinner at everyone's leisure instead of doing it as a group was made.

Kyoko personally retreated to her own cabin with a grin and Kanae and Yashiro left the table together to go for a walk or something of the like.

Kyoko read and listened to music for a couple of hours before deciding to take a walk on the top deck that was quiet with few passengers. She stood at the helm with a soft smile as she watched the ocean peacefully. It took some time before she registered that she was shivering.

She stayed for a few moments longer before preparing to pull herself away from the beautiful sight of the ocean and return to her warm cabin. Just as she was about to turn away and head in when a soft and warm coat was unexpectedly draped around her shoulders.

Kyoko turned in surprise to see Hikaru step up to stand next to her.

"Hikaru-kun?"

"Seems we have the same idea. I had come up here to enjoy the peace and quiet."

Kyoko nodded before turning back towards the ocean. They stood together in a companionable silence when suddenly Hikaru spoke.

"Kyoko-chan?"

She tore her eyes away and turned to face Hikaru only to breath in sharply when she found herself face to face with the young idol.

"Y-yes?"

"I'm quite glad that we got to spend more time together during the cruise. I really enjoy hanging out with you. If your willing I would love to perhaps do things together even once we get back."

Kyoko nodded eagerly.

"I would love hanging out with you. Oh and Shinichi-kun and Yuusei-kun!" She added hastily with a blush.

Kyoko was so focused on her slip that she missed the delighted smile that flickered across Hikaru's face.

"I'm glad."

They stood together for a bit longer before Hikaru turned to Kyoko.

"Why don't we head downstairs, maybe get a warm drink or something."

Kyoko nodded and Hikaru started walking with Kyoko behind him. Suddenly the ship shifted odd under her feet and Kyoko found herself losing her balance.

She let out a squeak and Hikaru turned just in time to catch her as she fell into him. He took a half step backwards to keep the, both upright and Kyoko instinctively gripped his shirt to balance herself.

As soon as they were steady Kyoko looked up onto to find herself practically nose to nose with Hikaru.

Her face flushed and she went to step back only to find that Hikaru had wrapped his arms around her back.

And he wasn't letting go.

H-Hikaru-kun?"

Said male didn't speak but the fading light caught his eyes and Kyoko swallowed hard as she caught sight of a glint in his eyes that made her even more aware of the fact that Hikaru was most definitely male.

"Kyoko."

His voice was both husky and amused and Kyoko definitely didn't miss the lack of honorific.

"Uh..."

He smiled slightly and while keeping one arm wrapped securely around her waist he reached up and brushed her bangs from her eyes.

Kyoko stared up at him with unblinking eyes. He simply gave a huff of amusement before his hand trailed down her face to her neck and slipped behind her head to cradle it.

With a soft smile he lowered his head and gently brushed his lips across her own. Kyoko's eyes widened and he pulled back to give her a searching look. Unable to speak at the moment she simply blinked at him as her whole face flushed in embarrassment.

He seemed to be able to see that Kyoko was not angry or upset by his actions and so leaned back down to press his lip against hers more firmly. Kyoko was frozen for a moment before Hikaru shifted his mouth over her's and coaxed her into responding.

She gave a soft sigh before allowing her eyes to slip shut as she leaned into him, tilting her head as she responded hesitantly to the kiss. Hikaru finally pulled back and Kyoko slowly opened her eyes.

Looking up at his sparking brown eyes effectively snapped her out her daze and she went to leap back and flee from Hikaru, but he predicted her response and stopped her.

"Please don't. You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that, please don't just run away and leave me standing here." He whispered.

Kyoko froze as her eyes searched his face. Hikaru bit his lip before sighing.

"Kyoko, I really, really like you. I have for a very long time. I've clearly crossed a line that has made it so that things will never be the same again so I'm going to take one more risk. Will you be my girlfriend?"

Kyoko blinked.

"Like in a romantic relationship?"

"Yes."

"But I'm boring and plain with no sex appeal! Why would you want me?!"

Hikaru stared at her incredulously.

"What are you talking about? Your beautiful! I've thought that since I met you and the others agreed with me. What makes you even more attentive is that you aren't hung up on your looks and your so open and friendly. You practically glow when you've got that smile on your face."

"You-you think I'm beautiful?"

"Yes! Hasn't anyone told you that before?"

Kyoko glanced away uncomfortably

"Well, when I'm in character they have. But I didn't think I was pretty when I'm dressed like normal."

Hikaru shook his head and leaned his forehead down against hers.

"Well let me be the first to tell you that no matter what character your playing and what clothing your wearing your beautiful."

Kyoko relaxed slightly as she met Hikaru's earnest gaze and saw the honesty in his face.

"So I'll ask you again. Will you be my girlfriend?"

Kyoko bit her lip shyly and flushed.

"...yeah."

Hikaru grinned and wrapped his arms more securely around her, pulling her to his chest. Kyoko rested her head on his collarbone and relaxed against him with a soft smile.

Eventually they moved apart and Hikaru reached down, grasping her hand in his own and weaving his fingers through her's.

"Let's go inside. It's getting cold."

Kyoko nodded and together they walked to the stairs that led to the deck below. As she glanced sideways as Hikaru Kyoko felt her heart lift.

She didn't love him yet, but she did like him. Being around him made her feel safe and valued as a person, even with her mistakes and flaws. If this was what love would feel like Kyoko wasn't so scared of it anymore.

* * *

Ren strolled down the hall towards where the two private rcabins belonging to the two love me members and the Ishibashi boys were located.

He had left the situation for a day but now it was time to calm himself down and talk to Kyoko. He wouldn't bring up what had happened and he was sure that she had forgotten about it already but he did want to ask her about a upcoming acting job she had mentioned before the cruise.

He was pulled from his thoughts when he heard Kyoko's voice. He smiled slightly, this was perfect since he wouldn't have to get through Kanae to talk to Kyoko.

Then he heard a male voice and stiffened, looking around the corner to see Hikaru and Kyoko walking together.

"...thank you." As they got closer the only thing Ren understood was her thanking the star with her.

"You don't need to thank me Kyoko. I was simply telling the truth. I know you don't really believe me right now but hopefully one day you'll be able to."

Kyoko gave a shy nod and Hikaru smiled.

"We should probably get to bed since tomorrow is the last day on the ship before we arrive and disembark so the president probably has all sorts of crazy activities planned for us."

"Yeah, knowing president Lory that's true. Goodnight Hikaru."

Ren flinched at the lack of honorific. He had a bad feeling about what was going on here and he hoped desperately that he was wrong.

"Goodnight Kyoko.' Hikaru said with a soft smile before giving her a chaste kiss that Kyoko shyly responded to.

Ren stared at them in horror as anger welled up in him.

"What is going on here?" He growled as he stepped into the hall.

Both Hikaru and Kyoko spun to face him, Kyoko's face going pale upon seeing Ren. He expected her to go into her typical apology at being caught by him. He however didn't expect Hikaru to turn away from Ren to face Kyoko.

"I'll take care of this. You go ahead and head to bed."

Kyoko looked back to Ren who crossed his arms and raised a brow. He knew she wouldn't let Hikaru take care if this since she always wanted to take care of her own situations.

If she dismissed Hikaru and followed Ren to somewhere they could talk it would give Ren the chance to smooth over what had happened at the resort as well as convince her that dating Hikaru right now would be a bad idea since it would take her attention off her career. Convincing her not to date Hikaru would by him some more time to confess. Then Kyoko nodded and his stomach bottomed out.

"Alright. Thank you Hikaru, goodnight." Kyoko said softly, releasing his hand which Ren had not noticed her holding before slipping into her room without a backwards glance, the door clicking shut behind her.

Then Hikaru turned to face Ren, the older males smile long gone as he walked towards Ren and then passed him.

"Let's go."

Ren turned and fell into step next to Hikaru, his hands clenching and unclenching as they walked. Once they were out of earshot of either the Ishibashi boys or the two LoveMe girls Hikaru turned to Ren who was glaring at the bridge rock host.

"Let me guess, your going to tell me that she belongs to you now." Ren said is a slightly mocking tone.

Hikaru gave a harsh bark of laughter.

"Kyoko is not a fire hydrant Tsuruga-kun. I will not claim her as if I'm a dog marking my territory. Kyoko belongs to herself, no on else."

Ren bristled at the honorific that the older male had applied to his name.

"However, I will say one thing. Kyoko does not belong to me, but she is my girlfriend now and you no longer have the right to flirt with her. I will not ask her to distance herself from you since she respects and admires you very much however she is off limits now, which means that I had better not find out at you've been making moves on her or abusing your Sempi status in her life to manipulate her into breaking up with me because you've told her that dating me makes her less serious about her career."

Ren gaped at Hikaru who continued on.

"What her mother and Sho have done to her has made her feel worthless about herself and it's going to take me a very long time to reverse the effects that their words had on her. Because of your jealousy and the things you have said to keep her away from other males you have only made it worse and I will not allow you to hurt her because your angry about us dating."

"I haven't done anything."

"Funny, from what she told me when Sho and Beagle harassed her you were more worried about how that would effect your chances at her heart then you were about the effect it would have on her."

Neither males noticed that the door to Lory's cabin had been open for the entire conversation and both Yashiro and Lory were staring open mouthed as they listened to Hikaru and Ren.

"I was worried about her." Ren spat through gritted teeth. How dare this guy judge him!

"Clearly not enough to put her above your own petty jealousy. I will only warn you once, you continue treating my girlfriend the way you have been and I will go to President Lory. Understand?"

Without waiting for a response Hikaru turned and exited the hall.

Ren stood frozen facing the direction that Hikaru had just left as his mind raced. He clenched his jaw as he thought about just sitting by and watching Hikaru steal Kyoko right out from under him.

He stood in silence for a few moments before hearing a clearing fit he throat from behind him. Ren turned to see Lory and Yashiro watching in silence.

"Ren." Lory said quietly.

Ren met his gaze and flinched away from the solemn look.

"You support their relationship." Ren whispered.

"It's over Ren. Kyoko is off limits now."

* * *

The sun was shining brightly as the members of LME disembarked from the cruise ship. Once everyone was off the ship they gathered near the two limo's. One for taking the Ishibashi boys, Kyoko and Kanae home and the other to take Ren, Yashiro and Lory to the LME building.

As the Ishibashi's climbed into one of the limo's Kyoko went to follow but was stopped by a large hand that was gently set on her shoulder.

She turned to see Ren looking at her with a serious expression.

"Before you head out...I wanted to apologize for my reaction with Sho. I was way out of line and I'm sorry."

Kyoko felt her eyes widen in surprise. Her mentor was apologizing to her?!

"It's alright Tsuruga-san!"

Ren smiled slightly.

"No, it isn't. But thank you for saying that."

Kyoko nodded and turned away to go back to the limo.

"Oh and Mogami-san?"

Kyoko looked over her shoulder to see Ren smiling almost sadly at her.

"You've found a good man in Hikaru-san. As your mentor and friend I approve."

Kyoko broke into a wide grin.

"Thank you Tsuruga-san!"

Ren nodded to her and Kyoko climbed in, settling down next to Hikaru. As the door closed behind her she heard Ren talking to Lory.

"Say president, about that movie offer from the producer in the USA..."

Once the door was closed and the driver had climbed back in the limo pulled away from the curb. Kanae, Yuusei and Shinichi were all talking about a new album that had been released by some K-pop band but Hikaru was watching her.

"Is everything okay?"

Kyoko beamed at him.

"Everything's great. He not only apologized to me about what happened on the beach but he also told me that thought you were a good guy and he approved. I was very worried he would think I wasn't dedicated to being a actress because I have a boyfriend."

Hikaru seemed surprised to hear what Ren had said but then he broke into a bright smile and wrapped one arm around her shoulders, pulling her into his side and kissing her temple.

"I'm not the best looking guy or the most famous guy but I'm seriously glad that you spared me a second glance."

Kyoko rested her head on Hikaru's shoulder with a happy smile.

"So am I."

* * *

 ** _Owari (the end)_**

* * *

The story has ended, and so now fellow Skip Beat fans I, Queen-of-Ice101 challenge you. Are you brave enough to accept this challenge and put your creativity to the test?

For those of you who dare to take the Hikaru challenge please add the following tags onto whatever other tags you add:  
"Hikaru Challenge"  
And...  
"Are you brave enough to accept the Hikaru Challenge?"

I have thrown the gauntlet! Who will pick it up?

* * *

Aaaaaaaannnnnddddd...it's over!

The Hikaru challenge story is officially over! Happy me:) I have a really bad habit of starting something and then losing inspiration and abandoning it so I'm glad I was able to finish this story.

I hope that my way of having Ren change in his interaction with Kyoko after she became Hikaru's girlfriend satisfied all of you, I wasn't fully pleased with the loose ends this left but I felt this was the most realist thing I could do with their relationship. I know of a Hikaru Challenge story that created a sequel but I won't be doing that so you lovely readers will just have to imagine what happens after this.

Anyway, in a slightly unrelated note I'm gonna throw a question out to you lovely readers regarding another Skip Beat fanfic. IF you could choose any kind of Skip Beat fanfic with any pairing in the series (aside from Yaoi/Yuri as that isn't really my thing) to read what would you want? I've decided to create a fan requested story to challenge my writing abilities a little bit by attempting to write a story according to a request so I would love to hear from you guys:)

Anyway, hope you all enjoyed the story!

So what did you think? Reviews are welcome! Flames shall be laughed at, posted for others to laugh at, and ignored as I go work on more fanfics.


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